December 31st, 1991
by crowskisses
Summary: New Years Eve junior year of high school. A night long before the Salvatores appeared in Fells Church, the night Bonnie's powers were awoken.


Summary: New Years Eve junior year of high school. A night long before the Salvatores appeared in Fells Church, the night Bonnie's powers were awoken.

Rating: K

A/N: Drabble.

December 31st, 1991

"Elena?" Bonnie called, throwing out her voice over the hill deeper into the cemetery. They were supposed to be walking over to Meredith's to get ready for the New Years Eve party, but Aunt Judith had said Elena had come this way.

"_Bonnie..._" She crested the hill by the old church and shivered, looking around, it hadn't sounded like Elena calling her name. She edged farther from the church, looking at it sideways before glancing down the hill to where the Gilberts' graves were. No blonde head, no fresh flowers indicating Elena had been there.

"_Bonnie.._." The whispery voice came again from the church and she got the sudden sense she shouldn't be hearing it, that no one else would. Her heart jumped again, racing in fear and she looked longingly down the hill and back. Somehow, she couldn't walk away, she felt like she was being drawn to the church.

_Curiosity damned the cat and its going to damn you too, McCullough. _She tried to reason with herself, but even the smart, scared part of her brain wasn't strong enough to override the curious, compelled part. So she crept towards it on light footsteps, fear making her cautious. Then a thought occurred to her and she threw out her voice, "Elena Gilbert if you are just trying to scare me, I am going to get you!"

She pushed into the church, completely convinced Elena would be standing there with Caroline laughing at her, but there was no laughter and no girls. There was nothing at all physically, just fading December light filtering in. Still, something seemed to be happening to her, she could still hear that whispery voice. "_Bonnie..._"

She took one step backwards, towards the light suddenly remembering things she'd forgotten from her childhood: running to tell her parents Mary had wrecked her bike in the ditch before Mary had done it, crying inconsolably from the nightmares that haunted even her waking hours.

Bonnie lost it and bolted, running as fast as she could towards the Sulez house, but the damage had been done. Something inside of her had rolled over and stretched. She was hysterical by the time she burst through their front door, blowing past the maid and up into Meredith's room. Meredith and Elena both started, looking at her in concern, "Bonnie, what's wrong?"

She froze, in the bright bedroom with her best friends looking at her like she was crazy she suddenly felt how ridiculous she had been. She was a sixteen year old girl who still afraid of the dark, who still clutched a stuffed elephant every night. Meredith had her by the shoulders and was pulling her towards the bed, "Bonnie?"

She found her mouth worked, words rushing out. "Aunt Judith told me Elena went to the cemetery so I went to go get her and-"

Bonnie froze, catching site of herself in the mirror as Meredith pushed her onto the bed. Except there were four reflections there: Meredith, Elena, Bonnie's white one and another woman. She opened her mouth to scream and blinked, the reflection disappearing. Elena and Meredith were glancing concernedly at each other, Elena's words calm but slow. "Bonnie...I never went to the cemetery and you never went to my house."

She tried to focus in on Elena's words, over the hysteria crashing through her mind. Elena was sitting next to her now, speaking calmly as if Bonnie was going to bolt. "I walked to your house but your mom said you'd already left, walked out looking dazed without even a coat. She's worried you're getting sick."

Bonnie looked down at herself, trying to push the tears away, where was her coat? What was happening to her? Something, whatever it was. It felt like numbing fire was running through her veins, lighting up circuits she had never known she'd had. A cool hand touched her forehead and she jumped. It was only Meredith, worried grey eyes peering at her. "Elena, can you get the maid. I think Bonnie should have some water."

Elena rose from the bed, disappearing out of the bedroom. Meredith brushed one of her tears away, "What happened at the cemetery?"

"I don't know. Someone called my name and I went into the ruined church..." It was a hiccup.

"It was probably just Caroline or one of the boys playing a prank, Bonnie. You just got scared, that's all." Meredith's calm voice was convincing.

She found herself nodding and agreeing, trying to bury whatever had happened back into her mind like she'd done a thousand times before. "I just got scared. Its nothing, really."

Meredith patted her hand and rose, "Let's get ready for the party."

Bonnie followed her to the closet, wiping tears away and carefully avoiding looking into the mirror lest she see that pale, serious face again.

…...

The party was rocking and Bonnie was lost in the beat of the music, when it came to an abrupt screeching halt. Tyler Smallwood's voice rang out, "Two minutes everyone! Get your glasses!"

The next two minutes were a rush, Bonnie managed to find Meredith and worm their way closer to where Elena was in the crook of Matt's arm. She held up her glass, joining the chant. "3, 2, 1!"

"Happy New Year!" Meredith swept her into a hug and she hugged her back, hanging on in a wild desperation. Whatever had rolled over in her earlier had fully woken in the back of her mind, starting a frantic buzzing that was threatening to take over.

"Happy New Year!" Elena hit them from the side, done with midnight kiss with Matt.

Caroline was converging on them too, dragging a guy behind her, "Happy New Year bitches! May 1992 be wilder than we can imagine!"

Elena laughed wild and carefree, pulling away and turning to Bonnie. "C'mon, Bonnie! Make your annual predictions! You were dead on last year..."

The buzzing took over in her mind against her will and she was seeing, no, _seeing. _Her lips moving with it, her voice blank and frantic at the same time. "Meredith: family secrets come out with a sandy haired saviour. Elena...a crown in the spring. Your summer I see long narrow bread, different accents...France? Fall..." Bonnie tensed, her muscles clenching.

"Brothers...stay away from the brothers, they'll bring your death. Dead. Alive. Dead again." She pushed the images away, "I don't want to see anymore!"

Then she fled, pushing her way wildly through the party goers and onto the back porch. She rubbed her face, pushing away tears and batting uselessly at her mind. Why wouldn't it go away? Why wouldn't it go back to wherever it had come from?

They came after her, pausing in the crowd, but Bonnie could still hear the hushed conversation. Elena's high voice, shrill with unease. "Meredith, stop. What if she's right?"

"She's not, she's just being dramatic." Meredith's cool voice.

"Meredith...I'm going to France this summer and there's no way Bonnie could know that. I only found out from Aunt Judith yesterday...her old roommate invited us to stay with her at a cottage."

There was a long silence in which Bonnie's tears stopped out of fear, then Meredith's voice came less convinced. "Maybe Aunt Judith told Mrs. McCullough. That's the only explanation."

They came closer, Elena pausing one more time. "I'm not ready to die."

"You're not going to! I won't let it happen." Meredith whispered back fiercely, then less fiercely, "But stay from any brothers just in case."

Then they were at her, Meredith pulling Bonnie around to look at them. "You just got carried away."

"Yeah." Bonnie said though she wasn't convinced, "I was freaked out in the cemetery earlier."

"You really were, I bet that made you come up with death." Elena added, though something uncertain lurked in her dark blue eyes. "Plus your mom thinks you're coming down with something."

"That must be it." Bonnie said, already burying the words. "I don't want to talk about it."

Tyler lurched by, holding a red solo cup. "Let's party! Let's forget 1991 and tonight! Wohooooo!"

The three of them made eye contact and spoke in unison, "Let's."

"Please." Bonnie added giving Meredith wide brown eyes.

Elena was equally as enthusiastic as she grabbed Bonnie by the wrist, dragging her back into the party almost desperately. "Matt can drive us home."

Bonnie reached back and grabbed Meredith's wrist, yanking, as she pushed away the sudden feeling this might be their last new years as a group.


End file.
